Multi-component surgical materials, such as bone cements and similar compositions, must be thoroughly blended together to achieve the required composition and/or consistency for application to the surgical site and to ensure that the component parts of the material are completely mixed. Once thoroughly blended, the material must be dispensed to the surgical site. It is advantageous to perform both the mixing and delivery functions in a single device in order to improve efficiency and reduce the risk of contamination or loss of the surgical material.
While many multi-component surgical materials consist of two liquids or a liquid and a solid, certain materials consist of two or more solid materials which must be thoroughly blended before use, for example, the materials described in WO 2013/036525. Where the component materials are of a highly viscous putty-like consistency, it has been necessary to mix them by hand, for example, by kneading, prior to use. But hand-mixing can be time consuming and result in surgical materials that are inadequately or incompletely mixed. The result may be a composition having a consistency that is less than optimal for application to the wound site. Incomplete mixing may also result in a composition that will not fully and uniformly cure into the desired hardened material following its application to the wound site. In addition, it may be necessary to transfer the composition to another device for application to the surgical site, which can be cumbersome, time consuming, and risks loss and/or contamination of the composition.
The present invention addresses the need for improved means to ensure the thorough blending and efficient extrusion to a desired surgical location of a multi-component surgical material having highly viscous solid components.
When practical, similar reference numbers denote similar structures, features, or elements.